Depiction of Women in Graphic Novels
The media and entertainment we consume shape our thoughts. Graphic novels are one of the most loved sources of entertainment, for adults and kids.
Being aware of how it depicts certain characters, or as we will discuss in this article, how it depicts a specific gender, indirectly makes us believe it to be reality.
When fiction subconsciously becomes part of our sense of reality, it becomes a problem.
Authors who write and draw these panels show the female characters in a sexualised manner, where the emphasis is placed on the looks and body, over a character who moves the plot forward, or is relatable to the readers.
But to understand how artists decide this as ‘important’ for the story, we need to understand where the graphic novel industry comes from, and who their primary consumers are.
The industry is one that is male-dominated, both as creators and consumers. For years, female characters were nothing but projections of men’s views.
It is only recently that women have started to get into the industry and realise the misinterpretation and heavy sexualisation of the female characters.
History of Female Character
Works of fiction and the characters are a reflection of the society of that time. On that note, let us look at a popular female character, Wonder Woman, and how her character changed with time.
Wonder Woman was created by William Moulton Marston in 1942. He hoped a character like her would bring much-needed socio-political change.
Wonder Woman’s character encouraged women to join the war efforts by both physically getting involved and economically supporting the troops and their own families through the labor force.
After the war came a rise in conservative efforts and a desire for women to stay at home while the men tried to reclaim their jobs. This led to a change in Wonder Woman’s character.
Wonder Woman takes on a more domestic role and becomes her assumed identity, Diana Prince, owning a flower shop and being proposed to by her love interest, Steve Trevor, whom she used to be saving from danger.
Other Notable Examples
Hulk is a very popular character, huge, bulky, and green-skinned. A topic of discussion for so many kids.
What very few people would know about is that the Hulk has a female counterpart, called She-Hulk.
She-Hulk shares the same green skin and the unfathomable power, but there is also a lot of emphasis on her breasts.
Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and former Soviet spy, Natasha Romanoff, is one of the more widely known examples of the sexualisation of female superheroes.
In the comic, she was drawn with a skin-tight suit and is shown to have a sexual demeanour. Despite her impressive skills and experience as a spy, her storyline tends to revolve around her potential as a love interest and her attractiveness.
The Manga Industry
Manga are Japanese comics that are very popular in the country, and are gaining popularity all over the world. And with the growing popularity of manga around the world, we need to talk about the numerous problems with it.
According to scholars and commentators, Japanese manga and anime are rife with sexist themes, among which are sexualised underage female characters and sexual assault scenes portrayed as acceptable expressions of love or admiration.
Sakura Haruno is a character from Naruto, a character who is in the main cast and severely hated for the way she is shown. But her character, whether good or bad, shows us how men view women.
In most parts of the anime, Sakura is shown to be deeply infatuated with Sasuke Uchiha, who is part of the main cast. He does not like her, but Sakura does not let go of her crush.
We see her to be weak, a ninja who cannot fight properly amongst characters like Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi, who are all strong from the family they come from or other powers that they inherit. We see her as nothing but a character who is deeply in love and will say and do foolish things for this boy.
Throughout the anime/manga, he disrespects her, does not see her value, and is ignorant of her presence. And what does she do? She continues to love him, thinks nothing of his blatant disrespect. In the end, they get married and have a daughter together. Misogyny? Very evidently so.
But does not mean mangas do not have strong female leads, they do. Jujutsu Kaisen does female characters justice. Nobara Kugisaki is the perfect example of a good female character.
Nobara, just like Sakura, is in a team of strong sorcerers like Satoru Gojo, Megumi Fushiguro, and Yuji Itadori, but she is not weak. She is not a character who is seeking love or accepts disrespect; she is a character whom we can all relate to. She likes to spend money on designer brands.
She does everything we all do, she is everything that we all are, and she is not weak, because every woman is strong.
Conclusion
As stated at the start, the comic book industry draws in a lot of people, ranging from kids to adults. Showing a gender bias, like men are strong, muscular, and fight, whereas women are petite, and have little to offer, becomes a subconscious thought.
As long as we portray women as linear characters in search of love, or as objects subjected to sexualisation, we conform to that narrative, even though we are aware that it is not true.
Kids who consume such media will believe all women to be just as one-dimensional and have nothing to offer but their bodies.
We see that there has been a significant decrease in the objectification of women today than there was thirty years ago. While these are positive findings, we should not stop here; we should question the artists about objectification, and we should refrain from engaging and promoting such content.
It is our job as consumers to be more aware of the hidden discrimination and take necessary steps to have an accurate portrayal of characters.
Let me leave you with this beautiful line, so that you can appreciate what you are as a girl, as a woman.
“I love the me that dresses up and looks beautiful! I love the me that’s strong!”
–Nobara Kugisaki, Jujutsu Kaisen
